Beware of counterfeit iPods!

Ever wondered if that janky iPod that's constantly dying in your bag was actually made by monkeys instead of Apple? MacRumors has a post today about the suddenly growing appearance of counterfeit iPod shuffles and iPod nanos floating around lately in an attempt to cash in on the iPod's insane popularity and make a little cash on the side while riding Apple's wave.

They've gone so far as to create counterfeit iPods (photos). These iPods look-alikes are similar to the Apple iPod and can even be labeled with Apple serial numbers. Both counterfeit iPod nanos and iPod shuffles have been spotted.

Several photos of counterfeit iPod nanos and shuffles can be seen on iPodGear.com. When looking at them side-by-side, it may seem "obvious" to us which ones are the counterfeits, but by themselves, perhaps the differences wouldn't jump out so immediately.

MacRumors goes on to give tips on what the key differences are between the counterfeits and the originals:

The counterfeit iPod nano has a non-standard headphone jack located on the lower-right and has no dock connector. Meanwhile, the counterfeit shuffle comes in a convincing box but has the words "Digital Music Player" on the top, which the original does not. Other differences in the shuffle are the lack of a repeat setting on the switch and no battery light or status button.

Okay, so maybe those parts are obvious. I think I'd be a little suspicious if there was no dock connector, but maybe I'm asking too much of the population at large. According to the post, Apple (obviously) does not service these counterfeits and are taking the legal issues very seriously when dealing with them.

Personally, I'd love to add a counterfeit nano to my collection. I can sit it right next to my "OMGWORTHSOMUCH" first generation counterfeit panda Beanie Baby that I bought in China for 25 cents.